00:00head out on the wise heart right we make it right call Kyle Wright hotline and talk to Albert
00:05Prier as he joins us every single Tuesday here of the MMQB Albert welcome to the show
00:11hey what's up guys oh just another day in Cleveland having the having a weekend of
00:17reports that the Browns would re-examine the quarterback position after week two only for
00:23Deshaun Watson to have a top three quarterback experience in his Browns career on Sunday
00:28and the Browns get uh get a win as eight and a half point dogs so you know pretty much
00:32the
00:32the typical kind of experience we can expect here from the Browns
00:37yeah it's really amazing how these things work out for that team I mean I sometimes you feel like you
00:43can't explain it you know what I mean like but you guys know that better than me so I guess
00:48we can
00:48start here um obviously there were reports going to the weekend that certainly if the Browns had
00:54lost and Deshaun had played poorly maybe Shador would be the starter right now how much does one
00:59good start in a win change the math for Deshaun and the Browns I think a lot I mean I
01:06look like I don't
01:07think it was a mistake that Deshaun started the road game and Shador started the home game
01:13um in the preseason you know I think the Browns are cognizant of all of that stuff and not just
01:19how it might affect the quarterback but how it might affect the other guys on the team you know
01:25and so I I think if it hadn't gone well in Tampa or similarly to how it went in Jacksonville
01:34well then you're looking at walking into a cauldron and I mean remember you know back in August that
01:40was 15,000 people in the stadium you know um this obviously would be a a whole different
01:46can't get a worm so look I think from that perspective you've given the fans something
01:52to cheer for and that now you're one and one coming into this game and Deshaun's played well
01:58Deshaun's got good tape out there now um and you know I think for the most part you look at
02:04this
02:05now and say okay we've got we've got something to build off of um now like if he goes out
02:12and
02:13doesn't look very good does that expire quickly probably but I think it's a lot better situation
02:19than it would have been if he hadn't if he hadn't played well last week and I think like part
02:23of the
02:24two guys is just again like you know I hate to keep saying this but it really is also about
02:30the
02:30other 10 guys in the huddle and I think one of the biggest things for the Browns this year in
02:34general
02:34is developing all that young talent they have on the roster and so I I don't think internally
02:40there's been much of a question the best thing for Casey Concepcion and and Denzel Boston Spencer
02:46Fano and Quinjon Judkins and Harold Finn and all those guys is for Deshaun to be the quarterback
02:52so like having camped down some of the I think insanity that might have been been in the stadium
02:59Sunday like helps them stick with what I think they thought was the right thing to do all along
03:04well and so with that too I mean obviously you want to have wins and need the ideas wins but
03:08you've told us in the past it's basically about making those guys what you just said those guys
03:12having a chance and those guys feeling like they're getting better the young players on this team and
03:16we've seen now back-to-back weeks Denzel Boston have massive plays is just being competent is that good
03:22enough to kind of pass the test for Deshaun yeah because I think it's like I mean look you know
03:30for
03:30Todd Munkin and his staff like part of the idea would be with all those young guys that when you're
03:36going into year two now you're really hitting the ground running right like you're able to
03:42run your systems at a high level because the guy's got experience in it the guys have done a multitude
03:46of things within the system and the easiest way I can explain this to you guys I think a veteran
03:51quarterback's more prepared to do that I think a veteran quarterback's more prepared to make some
03:55of the changes on the fly that you need to have made um and like so rather than have somebody
04:02who's
04:02still learning the NFL game and they're along with all the younger guys if you've got a guy at the
04:08trigger who has been through it before who's written out the ups and downs before who can have a little
04:14bit more command at the line and do some more things at the line you're going to develop those guys
04:19at a
04:19higher level and I again that's nothing against you do or he can't help that he's only in his second
04:25but there is a there is an experience gap there you know and so I think you know from that
04:32perspective
04:33like you are going to get a materially different experience for all those young guys when you've
04:40got an experienced quarterback in there versus somebody who might be closer to them in age
04:44Albert I think the Browns are a bit lucky I think I think I think by and large a fair
04:50amount of the
04:50media here in Cleveland has forgotten what sure felt like a premeditated hit job on Deshaun before
04:57the game ever tipped off and so I I hear what you're saying and I think you're right by the
05:02way
05:02that uh the Browns uh maybe feel validated by Deshaun having a good game and that now this buys
05:09him time I think that makes sense he's got at least the next two weeks because of the way the
05:12schedule
05:12lines up but I I do think like I think there's gonna be a chance we look back in two
05:18or three weeks
05:18and go wow they really look like they I don't want to say don't have a clue because I think
05:23they have
05:23a clue but certainly we're playing it day-to-day week-to-week with Deshaun Watson a guy that they
05:28spent the greater part of the offseason letting everyone know they thought was demonstrably the
05:32better quarterback well here's the problem though right I mean how confident are you gonna
05:40are you that it's gonna look good if you put one of the young guys he puts your door in
05:44there
05:45right like how confident are you that it's gonna look good probably the same confidence that I have
05:50in Deshaun all right but here's the problem is once you go to your door can you go back
05:57yeah I mean I think I've seen the Browns juggle quarterbacks in a way that would make a
06:01like a clown chuckle I I just think you have a hard time going back I think once they go
06:08to your door
06:09they're going to shoot you know and like I think if there was another level to that it might be
06:14to
06:14go to Dylan Gabriel when he comes off my arm you know like so I I I see what you're
06:21saying like I
06:22just again like I you have a season to play you know and if like you've got a guy who
06:31may not be
06:32completely ready to play quarterback in the NFL at the level you need him to play at like and you're
06:37going to go to him this early in the season there's a lot of risk associated with that
06:43um and so like I again like I I think that's got to be their mindset right because they don't
06:49know
06:49how the locker room is going to react the other thing is like that's but it's got to be their
06:53mindset is like all right like we're going to stick with Deshaun and once we go with your door
06:58we're going with your door and if it's not your door it might be one of the younger guys the
07:01other
07:01younger guys you know I think that's sort of the way that they have to approach it um you can't
07:07just seesaw the thing back and forth you know so I I I I would sort of disagree that there's
07:14not
07:14risk involved what's going to do or I actually think there's a fair amount of risk involved and
07:18just that like I just don't think you're going back to the veteran after that and you don't have
07:22anybody else beyond your door on the roster that has much experience from a journalistic standpoint
07:27I want your insight though because and just and how this whole thing went down because I it just
07:32it feels like if they'd never done the leaked reports and that was Mary Kay Cabot that was
07:36Ian Rappaport that was again it went national and local about what could happen if Deshaun Watson
07:41didn't play a good game I like if they didn't ever have that leaked they'd look like geniuses right now
07:46they like one of the few people to believe in Deshaun that he could do that and then he did
07:50but because of the leaked reports it now just cast doubt and how much they actually believed in
07:54Deshaun Watson to begin with journalistically what are your thoughts on how those reports got out
08:00why they got out and if that makes sense to you I mean yeah no I mean I'm yeah look
08:05like I'm I'm
08:06friends with Ian I'm very friendly with Mary Kay I've known her forever like I I would I would say
08:11like the first thing is I hate when people say my stories are the result of leaks I would say
08:18like whenever a reporter is doing something like that like you're digging into it you're using your
08:24context you're trying to get as close to the part of the story as you possibly can and like I
08:30would
08:31expect that like Ian or Mary Kay would do that and look it was a natural time to do it
08:35too you know
08:36like it was all right like well are they really going to go into their home opener in week three
08:41with Deshaun as their quarterback and at that point it looked like that was up in the air so
08:47what do you do you start making phone calls and you you report that out so like that'd be the
08:52way
08:52that I would approach that um and I'm sure that's the way those two approached it you know I I
08:57don't
08:57think this is like a case of somebody like calling Mary Kay or Ian and being like like hey by
09:03the way
09:04we're not really you know we're not really in on Deshaun I think everybody knew where they were on
09:08Deshaun you know I think everybody knows that they are aware that this is not an ideal situation
09:14and that there's a really really really good chance that the quarterback for 2027 is not on the roster
09:21right now uh in fact I would tell you again I I I I I would bet you that if
09:29Kevin Stefanski was still
09:31the coach they would probably have a different quarterback right now and somebody who's not on
09:35the roster right now you know it's just a complicated situation and when you dig into it
09:40you find some things out um naturally over the course of doing the reporting if you're any good
09:45at it that would come up the way that Mary Kay and Ian did it Albert it was a brutal
09:50weekend for
09:50quarterback injuries Jackson Dart last night Caleb Williams Jaden Daniels and inevitably when we have
09:57kind of a gaggle of injuries like this to quarterbacks uh how do you protect quarterbacks better
10:04becomes the conversation I think I think it's become almost a lazy response to it but how much
10:11of that is a conversation in league circles when you just again have a large swath of quarterback
10:15injuries in one week I mean it's hard when they're already doing as much as they are you know what
10:21I
10:21mean like and I know no one wants to see these guys get hurt um obviously it's not good for
10:26the
10:27league um you know to see that and so like what more could they do though and that's that's a
10:34that's
10:34a real question a lot of these things are just football you know and I I think you know there's
10:40no sign that the players aren't going to keep getting bigger and stronger and faster um and as much as
10:47you
10:47do to try to protect them it's still a very violent game and I here's like I think of like
10:52you know for
10:53example do you guys remember this will this will be one you guys remember do you remember like the
10:56T.J. Ward hit on Rob Gronkowski where he took his legs out yeah remember that right so like
11:04I sort of felt bad for T.J. Ward there because people were like well what's T.J. Ward doing
11:07it's
11:08like what is he supposed to do he's gonna get fined if he goes high right like he's gonna so
11:14so what
11:14is he supposed to do is he supposed to are you supposed to take him up high is he supposed
11:19like
11:19that midsection is like a very small strike zone it's very easy to wind up at the guys needs
11:24but like you know the league made the determination and part of it's through the lawsuits and everything
11:29else like we gotta we gotta take concussions out of the game as much as we can so then there's
11:34an
11:34adjustment to that the way that those guys hit there's another consequence to it it's just I mean
11:41I think like there comes a point when you just have to sort of accept that these things
11:45that this is a violent game and look like Caleb Williams injury was non-contact right I mean maybe
11:53you could make the argument for domes then because it was wet out I don't know but like Caleb Williams
11:58injury was non-contact Jackson Dart's injury was like I mean I think sort of uh it wasn't dirty it
12:04was just sort of him getting punched between two guys and getting spun around and that sucks and that's
12:11terrible but I you know I kind of feel like that was what are you going to do Tyler Murray
12:16took a
12:16dirty hit and that was and I think that that that hit was was was was dealt with accordingly but
12:24you
12:24know like I just I'm not sure like when you start to break it down you look at these individually
12:29but there's a whole lot that you can do to protect the quarterbacks unless you just put a red a
12:35red jersey
12:35on the right there in practice not hit that at all Albert great stuff as always buddy uh hopefully
12:41we're talking about a second straight Browns win next week when you join us but uh have a great week
12:47all right thanks guys Albert Breer there of the MMQB on the wise heart right we make it right call
12:52Kyle Wright hotline
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